Google Adsense is helping relatively impoverished people to earn a decent living wage according to USA Today. As you might expect, Googlers think this is a great example of Google Goodness. The examples are interesting for what they teach us. Marshall Kirkpatrick is a tad cynical about this but then eases up a bit.
I like the fact that Google pays the same amount to Adsense carriers regardless of their location. It means the $20 de minimus before you get paid is the equivalent to 80% of average earnings for someone living in Rajasthan. In other cases, Adesnse revenue represents 40-50% of monthly eanrings while others are claiming to earn $1-1,500 per month. That’s extraordinary because to these people $20 is an incentive not chump change.
What is even more interesting is that ordinary men and women have been able to create vibrant Adsense driven sites. That’s innovation for you. What have they learned about ad placement optimisation Adsense style that we might learn and pass on to our SME clients as a simple value add? What else might they be able to do for our SMEs because these people are clearly quick learners and tech savvy? How might we engage commercially with these folk in a safe manner? Maybe we should subscribe to Vinnie, even though he talks big business ‘cos maybe we can still learn from him? (I do because we’re both SMEs.)
That’s why it’s important to have a sheaf of Indian blog sites on your blogroll or in your RSS feed reader. One of my very early readers was Arun of Forum4CA in India. Sadagopan is another I see a lot. And others. The Forum4CA article about trainees’ experience in regional firms is something with which we can all identify I’m sure.
Coincidentally, Brian Sommer commented on the recent results of Indian outsourcers compared with EDS, IBM and CSC. It makes for fascinating reading to know that low cost is leading to sparkling revenue growth.
Technorati Tags: advertising, Google Adsense, innovation
